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Local MN: The Muddy Pig prides itself with beer and scotch - lots of it
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The Muddy Pig's chalkboard showing (only) their beer selection
Some of us are content with the idea that a pub's house whiskey is Phillips and only have Coors Light on tap. Others of us are excited about a large drink menu and even feel entitled to such a service. This review is not for those content with Windsor or Bud Light.
The Muddy Pig, located on Dale Street in St. Paul, was packed with jersey-wearing Wild fans and U of M law students in the middle of a pub crawl this past Saturday evening. For a pub, it was actually pretty big, well lit and served surprisingly good food. It was surprising because you don't expect much else than waffle fries, which they don't serve, and expect less when you page through the Pig's menu. The menu is in a binder and over a dozen pages long and devoted to beer and scotch - only two are given to food.
True to (good) Minnesota-owned bars/pubs/restaurants, The Muddy Pig gives many of their taps to beers brewed in Minnesota, including Summit, Surly and the brand new Fulton. Despite the unnatural beer menu the Pig boasts, the list of highlighted spirits (Irish whiskey, bourbon, rye and single malt scotch) is also impressive.
Food - I can speak to the BBQ pulled pork, tilapia and burrito are too good for bar food. Even though the food list, as I mentioned, was pretty limited, it was actually really good.
Beer - The Fulton beer I had, Sweet Child of Vine, was hoppy and tasty. I wouldn't give it top marks, but it was good enough to have more than one. The Abbaye Des Rocs Tripel Imperial (Belgium) was dark and really good too.
Scotch - I ordered three kinds of scotch to get at least a small picture of their range in my one visit.
- The first, Glenfarclas Cask Strength, was only ok. Maybe I'm not the scotch guy I thought I was, but it was nothing special. It smelled like syrup with a hint of throw up.
- The second, a Glenlivet 12yr, was good. It was smooth, smelled 80 times better than the Glenfarclas and made me want to play cards. I definitely wouldn't mind having a bottle of this around.
- The third, what I believe to be a Glenfarclas 18yr, was obviously the best. This is the type of scotch that you'd drink and drink ... and drink ... and wake up face-down with your legs hanging over the back of a couch in Iowa. Then again, it could have been a Macallan 18yr, but I could be wrong. I thought they all were a "g" scotch. Oh well... they were good.
The Atmosphere - The Muddy Pig is definitely a pub. It's not the place to drop in with your family, looking for a quiet place to talk. If you're in the Summit, Grand, Dale area, you MUST drop in for a beer. Just don't take too long deciding what to drink, that's annoying to everyone.
The Muddy Pig is certainly a place to drop in and become a Cheers-esque regular.
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